coveR stoRy christian education a live option by John R. Petrilli
extra-curricular arts program and varsity athletics. FHS students represent over 70 local churches from over 20 school districts, contributing to both denominational and socio-economic diversity. Faith Heritage is thankful to be celebrating its 40th school year providing Christian education to Central New The rise of Christian schools in America has been nothing short of meteYork families (see www.faithheritageschool.org). oric. The AACS (American Association of ChrisMr. Neal Capone has been selected to serve as tian Schools) began in 1972 and has grown to its the new Headmaster of Faith Heritage School. current membership of 812 schools in the U.S. Neal has eight years of classroom experience at Founded in 1978, ACSI (Association of Christian the Middle and High School level, three years of Schools International) has a membership of experience as a Teacher Trainer, and for the last 23,000 schools in over 100 countries. four years, Neal has served as District Data CoorDr. Charles Walker, former education director dinator for CNY Regional Information Center of the American Association of Christian Schools (BOCES). Neal and his wife, Connie, are Faith cites the following as reasons for giving the Heritage alumni.” Christian School a closer look. 1) The teachers Carmen Durst, representing the Word of Life openly demonstrate and model Christian princiAcademy in Baldwinsville commented, “One of ples, 2) The academic instruction in the Christian the many misconceptions that people of have school exceeds that of the public schools, 3) The about Christian Education is that it exists so that Christian ethics and morals expounded in your we can protect our children from worldly influhome and church are reinforced in the Christian ences. Here at Word of Life Christian Academy in school classroom, 4) Negative peer pressure is Baldwinsville our philosophy is not to protect but downplayed by emphasizing the relationship of to equip and empower our students with strong each child with Jesus Christ, and magnifying the biblical principles needed for success in today’s Biblical standard of true friendship which calls for world. Because 100% of our elementary teachlove, forgiveness, and accountability, 5) Teacherers are NYS certified we have the opportunity to pupil ratio in a Christian school is lower than that provide academic excellence while reinforcing of most public schools, and 6) Scriptural admobiblical teaching and Christian values. Our goal is nitions concerning the rearing of children in the to develop well-rounded individuals who can Christian faith, such as Deuteronomy 6:5-7 and II make a great impact on our world. More informaCorinthians 6:14, can only be truly adhered to if tion about WOLCA is available on our website, children are taught in a Christian environment. www.wordoflifeacademy.org.” To get a local flavor on this subject we contacted Patricia Callahan, Director of Development at some representatives of Christian Schools in the C.B.A. states, “Christian Brothers Academy is a CNY area. These testimonies provide a good Catholic Lasallian college preparatory school starting point for folks to consider the many adserving young men and women of diverse faiths vantages offered by the Christian school. and cultures. The administration, faculty, staff and Lynette Deacons, spokesperson for Faith Students at Faith Heritage the entire CBA family provide students with a Heritage School in Syracuse, states, “One of the Praying Around the Flagpole safe, nurturing environment that fosters spiritual,
considering christian education? seven reasons Why you need to Pray about it 1. God’s Word is taught. “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul …. And you shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.” (Deuteronomy 11:18-19) 2. God commands us to teach kids through the Word. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” writes Solomon. “And knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10). 3. The school shares your values. If you’re like most Christian parents, you’ve taught your children about God since the day they were born. You’ve taken them to church, read them Bible stories, sung “Jesus Loves Me.” Imagine their shock and dismay when they’re thrust into an environment in which God is hated, ignored, or both. 4. Safety. With thousands of students roaming their halls and taxpayer dollars funding their bankrolls, public schools can only go so far in the area of discipline. The result? More frequent occurrences of theft and physical violence, not to mention course profanity and open rebellion in the classroom. 5. Academic Achievement. Contrary to popular opinion, students at Christian schools consistently out-perform their public school counterparts. Their standardized test scores are way above the curve, and they’re better prepared for college upon graduation. Even in the areas of math and reading, subjects that are “less spiritual” in content, students at Christian schools have proven their superiority.
CBA Students in Stadium
Word of Life Christian Academy
most important decisions a parent will make is choosing how to educate their child. Students spend 30-40 hours a week in an instructional setting. Choosing a Christian school ensures that the faith you are trying to instill in your children at home will not be undermined in the classroom, but rather, reinforced. Faith Heritage School is an independent, multi-denominational Christian school, providing a college preparatory education. Faith Heritage students have the opportunity to excel beyond the classroom as well, in our
intellectual, physical, emotional, and social growth. CBA challenges students to achieve excellence in all aspects of their lives, encouraging them to live as moral, responsible, contributing, and successful members of society. Schools like CBA play a critical role in shaping young people who will shape the future. To learn more about Christian Brothers Academy, attend their Open House on Sunday October 30, 1-3 pm at the school on Randall Road in Syracuse or visit our website at www.cbasyracuse.com.”
6. Teachers love and fear the Lord. Part of the reason why Christian students perform so well in the classroom is that they have a higher percentage of teachers who genuinely care about them. 7. Success after graduation. Because Christian school students perform at a higher level in the classroom than their public school counterparts, it only makes sense that their options upon graduation are more abundant. Therefore, they are more likely to be better prepared to handle the rigors of higher education.
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